Vitamin-M — Class 9 MCQs with Answers

Vitamin-M — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 9 English)

6 solved questions from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. Tap an option to check yourself.

0 of 6 answered

1. Q1 of 6Easy

   In 'Vitamin-M', who is the frail old figure sitting in the rocking chair?

   ARavi's GrandpaBRavi's fatherCA neighbourDA stranger
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   Answer: Ravi's Grandpa

   Explanation: Ravi points to 'the frail old figure sitting in the rocking chair' — his Grandpa.

2. Q2 of 6Easy

   What imaginary 'medicine' does Ravi's mother wish someone would invent?

   AA sleeping pillBA cough syrupCA pain relieverDVitamin-M, to improve old people's memory
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   Answer: Vitamin-M, to improve old people's memory

   Explanation: She wishes 'that somebody would invent a memory — Vitamin-M... to help them improve their memories.'

3. Q3 of 6Medium

   'Pottering around' the garden means:

   ACooking a mealBRunning fastCDoing small, unhurried, unimportant tasksDFighting
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   Answer: Doing small, unhurried, unimportant tasks

   Explanation: Grandpa 'was pottering around' — moving about doing small, casual tasks.

4. Q4 of 6Medium

   Each stanza of Tagore's poem links the mother's memory to a different sense. The three senses are:

   ASight, taste and touchBOnly sightCTaste, touch and hearingDHearing, smell and sight
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   Answer: Hearing, smell and sight

   Explanation: Stanza 1 = a tune (hearing), stanza 2 = the scent of shiuli (smell), stanza 3 = the sky/gaze (sight).

5. Q5 of 6Hard

   Which theme does 'Vitamin-M' most clearly explore?

   AThe dignity and independence of the elderly, and the need to treat them with respect not controlBThat old people are uselessCThat cities are dangerousDThat chess improves memory
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   Answer: The dignity and independence of the elderly, and the need to treat them with respect not control

   Explanation: Through Grandpa's resentment of over-protection and his sharp mind, the story pleads for the elderly to keep their dignity.

6. Q6 of 6Hard

   'a tune seems to hover over my playthings' — 'hover' gives the tune a quality that is:

   ACold and hardBFast and violentCLoud and harshDDelicate, floating and almost alive
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   Answer: Delicate, floating and almost alive

   Explanation: 'hover' suggests something light and lingering, making the remembered tune feel gently alive.

Vitamin-M notes: key concepts (Class 9 English)

Ravi watches his family treat his sharp-minded but forgetful Grandpa like a child, and secretly follows him into the city to find out what he really does when let out alone. Read with Tagore's 'I Cannot Remember My Mother', the unit is about memory, dignity and the bonds between generations.

Grandpa

The frail old figure in the rocking chair. A lawyer before he grew old, he still speaks with a trace of that firmness — and can recall thousands of chess games while forgetting everyday things.

Why he resents the move

He had lived independently for seventy-five years, cooking and keeping house after his wife died. Now he is in a 'poky little flat' being managed by others.

Vidya

Ravi's mother and Grandpa's daughter. She wishes someone would invent 'Vitamin-M' — a medicine to improve old people's memory. Her worry is genuine but her manner is patronising.

Why she fears letting him out

He had been hospitalised after taking a double dose of medicine, had got lost on a walk, and had fallen. Her over-protection has real causes.

Ravi's discomfort

He winces at the over-loud tone his mother uses with Grandpa, 'as though she were speaking to a child'. Ravi is the story's moral centre — he sees the indignity.

Ravi's plan

He decides to follow Grandpa secretly at a safe distance to make sure he comes home safely, turning the story into a gentle detective narrative.

What Grandpa actually does

He buys sugary tea, two bananas and an ice cream — all forbidden at home. The 'forbidden' treats are a man quietly reclaiming small freedoms.

Identifying details

A bright-yellow cap and a shiny-black mahogany walking stick with a brass handle carved as an eagle's head — how Ravi tracks him through the crowd.

Theme of the story

The dignity and independence of the elderly. A sharp mind and a long life of competence deserve trust, not management.

Poem: 'I Cannot Remember My Mother'

By Rabindranath Tagore. Three stanzas, each opening with the title line and each reaching the mother through a different SENSE — a hummed cradle tune (hearing), the scent of shiuli flowers (smell), and her gaze spread across the blue sky (sight).

Device in the poem

The repeated opening line is a refrain (anaphora) that unifies the three stanzas. The tone is tender and wistful.

Key vocabulary

Frail means weak and delicate; poky means small and cramped; pottering means doing small unhurried tasks; jauntily means happily and confidently; winced means showed pain or embarrassment; deterred means prevented; conceded means admitted or accepted.